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Ladies and Gentlemen of the Press:
Thank you for coming. We
have a series of statements for you. We hope you will
listen carefully. Afterwards we will field questions.
Then we have some food and drink for you and a tour
of our property.
First and foremost, let me
say, on behalf of the Communities of the Twelve Tribes,
that our children ARE NOT OPPRESSED BY CHILD LABOR.
We deny such allegations, as false, unfounded, and slanderous.
We have never been found in violation of child labor
laws in any of our industries.
I will detail the events
that preceded the New York Post article last Sunday,
claiming Scandal! Several weeks ago, there was a gossip
column noting a relationship between Common Sense, one
of our industries, and Origins, a branch of Estée Lauder.
The column cited Estée Lauder claiming that "a
routine inspection turned up a question about the age
of a couple of workers… We found their answers
insufficient, and with record speed we were out of there."
As mentioned in a recent
press account, prior to that visit, an Estée Lauder
spokeswoman noted more than 20 other announced and unannounced
inspections in this facility. They never found a problem.
However, on the day of this
inspection, there were a couple of boys working in the
shop with their fathers beyond what is our normal practice
and policy. This is what happened on that day. It was
an isolated incident and Estée Lauder realizes that.
Ordinarily, the boys would have been in the classroom
on a Thursday morning, but on this Thursday, big preparations
were underway for a three-day Bar Mitzvah in a neighboring
community. The boys’ rabbi, their teacher, was
out of town. Also many were down in bed with a bad bout
of the flu bug. A production deadline was pressing in.
On Fridays we routinely only work a few hours to leave
time to prepare for the Sabbath. Several fathers in
the shop judged that their sons were worthy to help
in the crunch. The fathers knew that with the support
of their sons for few hours, they could "get the
job done." With the rabbi absent anyway, the boys
were available and willing. With their sons by their
side, the work got done by the deadline! Those products
ending up being destroyed because of the conscientiousness
of Estée Lauder after we had an honest conversation
with them. They had an honest conversation with us and
we came to agreement to terminate the contract. That
is the real story.
But by last Sunday, the front
page of the New York Post proclaimed "SCANDAL"
and "BIZARRE CULT." The Post described our
communities as racist, anti-Semitic and isolationist.
They shouted "CHILD LABOR!" and wrongfully
implicated Robert Redford in heinous wrongdoing that
left him with no alternative but to respond to media
pressure and protect his Sundance Catalog regardless
of the facts. Despite the tabloid’s bold condemning
headlines, there has not been one allegation from the
labor department, nor any factual complaints of violations.
This article — false and slanderous — directly
caused the termination of one of our industry contracts,
Sundance, ON NO OBJECTIVE GROUNDS.
We, at Common Sense and at
Common Wealth Woodworks have always been very up front
with our practices, even to the extent of putting this
image right on our logo. It appears on every piece of
furniture shipped. The father and son work together
in a safe, healthy, educational environment. It is NOT
child labor and never has been.
In closing, I would like
to read from our most recent statement, which is also
included in your press packets. "Like any family
owned business, the children help their parents. We
believe in this and make no apology. We believe it is
the best environment for the children to be occupied
with their parents, not wasting their free time on empty
amusements and dissipation, which leads only to bad
behavior. Being together bonds them to their parents
and keeps them from the defilement of a life of adolescent
waywardness and the perilous effects of peer pressure."
Now we will continue with
the statements of other members.
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